Independent Prabhat.

Bureau Chaprayagraj.

The Supreme Court on Friday amended its previous instructions regarding the appointment of Vice Chancellors in West Bengal and assigned the responsibility of independently selection of the most suitable candidates for appointment in 15 universities to former Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit and the selection committee headed by him.

The court said, “Justice Lalit and members of his selection committee are the most suitable person to resolve the issue, as they have not only interacted with the candidates, but have also examined their educational achievements, experiences, qualifications and other relevant factors while considering their candidature.”

The court said that the committee will no longer be obliged by the priority order given by the Chief Minister while recommending the names for appointment, but requested the committee to consider the opinion that has already been given by the Governor and the Chief Minister. As a result, we amend the paragraph 18 and 21 of our order that Justice Lalit and his fellow members of the committee do not need to follow the preference order given by the Chief Minister of the state.

In other words, Justice Lalit will investigate independently who is the most suitable candidate for appointment. We request Justice Lalit and members of his committee to consider the opinion/comments of the Chancellor. While recommending the order of preference, the reasons given by the Chief Minister, if any, should also be given proper importance.

The bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the dispute between the West Bengal government and the Governor CV Anand Bose, who is also the Chancellor of the State Universities. The court formed a committee under the leadership of Justice Lalit in July 2024 to overcome the deadlock between the two constitutional authorities. Following the prescribed process in the recommendations and decisions made by the committee, the Vice Chancellors of 17 out of 35 state universities have already been appointed. These chairs were duly approved by the Chancellor.

During the hearing on Friday, the court noted the latest report submitted by Justice Lalit on 11 July 2025. This report was prepared by the court following instructions to investigate the views of the Chief Minister and Chancellor on the remaining candidates for appointment. However, the report of Justice Lalit for the remaining appointments showed a variation in the priorities of the Chief Minister and the Chancellor. In the case of seven universities, the Chancellor found the candidates who finished second in the Chief Minister’s preference list. In eight universities, he gave preference to the candidates who finished third in the order of the Chief Minister. Justice Lalit did not give any independent opinion on these dislikes.

In the decision of July 8, 2024, the Chancellor and the Chief Minister needed to register their objections on the recommended names, whose final decision was to be taken by the court. However, on Friday, the bench said that this process needs a change to empower the committee. The court authorized the committee to make its preference order for appointments in those 15 universities, out of which the Chancellor selected the second favorite candidate of the Chief Minister and the third favorite candidate in 8.

The court requested Justice Lalit and other members of the committee to complete the process “as soon as possible” and postponed the hearing of the case after four weeks. In relation to Ravindra Bharti University, the court directed the Chancellor to approve the appointment of Professor Dr. Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, which was recommended by the Chief Minister. The Chancellor had earlier refused to approve his name on the basis that he was appointed Vice Chancellor of West Bengal State University.

However, it was argued that he did not take charge there. The court said that the reason for stopping his appointment “is no longer in existence”. If she has already taken charge at West Bengal State University, she resigns and has the freedom to take charge at Ravindra Bharti University. For Cooch Behar Panchanan Burma University, the court said that if the Chancellor has no issue of inappropriateness of the person in the first place in the priority order of the Chief Minister, then they should approve the name and appoint “in the best interest of students”.